Espanyol 0-2 Real Madrid: Real notch 16th straight La Liga win to equal Barcelona's recordBy Michael Hincks
Last Updated: 18/09/16 10:27pm
Real Madrid overcame Espanyol 2-0 on Sunday to equal Barcelona's record of 16 consecutive La Liga wins. The victory matches the efforts of their fierce rivals, who achieved the feat under Pep Guardiola in the 2010-11 season. In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema stepped up to send Real back to the top of the table. A moment of individual brilliance saw Rodriguez open the scoring in his first start of the season, while Benzema tapped home after the break to seal the three points. Zinedine Zidane's men knew they would be chasing the record without Bale - who was injured in the 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday - and Ronaldo, who was absent through illness. The enforced changes saw Rodriguez come into the starting line-up, having been a used substitute in three of Real's previous four games.
The visitors should have opened the scoring when Sergio Ramos glanced a header wide despite being unopposed from a corner.
Moments later, a glorious chance fell to Espanyol's Leo Baptistao, but he could only shoot straight at Kiko Casilla after muscling Pepe off the ball.
Karim Benzema had the ball in the back of the net five minutes before the break, but he was marginally offside as he headed in from Marcelo's cross.
Baptistao went close again for the hosts, but he flashed his header past the post after Lopez's whipped ball in.
Just before the break, Rodriguez somehow wriggled beyond two challenges before shooting from 25 yards out, and his low effort was too strong for Diego Lopez as it nestled in the far corner.
In the second half, Lopez did well to keep out Benzema's effort on the hour-mark, after the Frenchman teed himself up and volleyed on the turn.
Ten minutes later, Benzema got his goal, turning the ball home from six yards out after Lucas Vazquez's low cross picked out the Real striker.
Casilla kept Espanyol at bay after getting his fingertips to a deflected effort from Felipe Caicedo, which was destined for the top corner.
Real ran down the clock to secure the win, leaving Espanyol without a under Quique Sanchez Flores this season.
http://www.skysports.com/football/espanyol-vs-r-madrid/362725
